Colorado firefighters say carbon monoxide levels were dangerously high after nine taken to hospital

Colorado firefighters say nine people were taken from a family home in Commerce City on Thanksgiving Eve after carbon monoxide levels inside reached a dangerously high concentration.

"Once we got inside, our alarms went pretty high. Some of the highest we've ever seen," said firefighter Nick Bundy.

A neighbor said three of those who were ill were children, including a baby with cerebral palsy.

"Nice people," said Esmerelda Jacquez, who lives on the other side of the duplex. She described the family as African immigrants. The mother of the family asked Jacquez if she smelled anything amiss as the concentration of carbon monoxide rose.

"She came and told me if I had smelled in this house, and I said no," recalled Jacquez.

But soon, the children were sickened and coughing. The family made the right move in calling 911 and getting out, said South Adams County Fire. Carbon monoxide is odorless, tasteless and cannot be seen. Normal CO levels are about zero to five parts per million. Inside, the fire department and an XCel crew found much higher concentrations.

"You could get very sick. With these levels at 1200, you know a couple of hours you could be dead," said Bundy.

Symptoms are headache, nausea and vomiting.

"Highest readings were down in the crawl space, and they were saying they had their furnace worked on yesterday," Bundy explained.

All nine were taken to the hospital for observation. The home was sealed off, and windows left open to air out. No one would be allowed back in, said the fire department, until an HVAC expert came back in and set things right. The home had a smoke detector, but firefighters did not see or hear a carbon monoxide detector.

The fire department pointed out how a working detector saves lives.

"They usually go for about ten years," said Bundy, who recommended changing batteries each time there is a time change. "Make sure you check the expiration date on those alarms. And have both CO and fire alarms."

South Adams County Fire, like many other departments, offers help with getting detectors and will even come over and install one to help, said spokeswoman Maria Carabajal. Residents can request smoke and carbon monoxide forms using the online application.